COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on the global economy. Like every continent, Africa too has been bracing itself for a sharp economic downturn. Yet, despite the inevitable recession, the pandemic has created a unique opportunity to promote the growth of the African continent. It is believed that empowering the continent’s modern energy could limit the pandemic’s long-term economic fallout.
Access to energy is crucial not only for the attainment of health and education outcomes but also for reducing the cost of doing business and for unlocking economic potential and creating jobs. Energy access for all is, therefore, one of the key drivers of inclusive growth as it creates opportunities for women, youths, children both in urban and rural areas. Accelerating the energy transformation can help Africa respond to COVID-19 while allowing the continent to meet its medium and long-term objectives.
Huge progress has been made in recent decades. In Senegal, for example, 69% of citizens now have access to electricity – up from only 26% in 1993. Across the continent, many other countries have made similar gains. But in Sub-Saharan Africa, just one person in five has access to electricity. According to a World Bank report, South Korea alone generates as much electricity as all of sub-Saharan Africa. Installed generation capacity in sub-Saharan Africa was barely one-tenth that of Latin America, the report said, citing Latin American privatizations as pointing the way forward. Today, around 548 million people still live without access to electricity in Africa.
Africa’s energy potential, especially renewable energy, is enormous, yet only a fraction of it is being currently employed. Hydropower provides around a fifth of current capacity but not even a tenth of its total potential is being utilized. Similarly, the technical potential of solar, biomass, wind and geothermal energy is significant. By creating the right environment for young entrepreneurs and start-ups to scale innovative solutions that are emerging from the crisis, African countries have a chance to stimulate job creation. This is crucial on a continent where youth employment stands at 16%, and 10-12 million young people enter the workforce every year.
The Renewable Scenario highlights that if the right policies are in place, this could be a future path for least-cost development, particularly for bringing electricity access through renewable off-grid systems to millions of Africans currently lacking access to the grid. It projects that the share of renewables could increase to 50% in 2030, and 73% by 2050. This scenario assumes that around four-fifths of all new capacity installed between 2010 and 2030 would be renewable and that virtually all installed capacity after 2030 would be renewable.
Utilizing the locally available renewable energy resources that Africa is richly endowed with can alleviate immediate energy challenges, while creating jobs, advancing industrial development and promoting human welfare. It is estimated that renewable energy deployment could create an additional 2 million green jobs in Africa.
